Sowing beetroot seed

[spamvindaloo]

I know that you can't start root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips in modules because the tap root would hit the bottom of the module which would make me think that the same would also apply to beetroot as that also has a long root and yet you can buy beetroot plug plants.

So would I be able to start beetroot in a module/cell tray? Common sense would tell me based on other roots, the answer is no but if you can buy plug plants....

[Bren In Pots]

I sow beetroot in newspaper pots it seems to work out well for me.

[marchogaeth]

I started mine in modules last year and they did really well on planting out. I'm not a plant biologist but is a beetroot by any chance modified stem rather than actual root?

[spamvindaloo]

I sow beetroot in newspaper pots it seems to work out well for me.

Thanks but don't really want to go to the trouble of making newspaper pots.

I started mine in modules last year and they did really well on planting out. I'm not a plant biologist but is a beetroot by any chance modified stem rather than actual root?

I know it has a long root and just assumed it was like other root veg. As it worked for you, I'll try it too, thanks.

[beeterforit]

I have found that the round beets are good in modules but the long rooted suffer as they send down a tap root

[sparrow100]

Beetroot are a swelled stem rather than a root, so sowing in modules etc will not be a problem. Cylindra and other longer versions can also be sown in modules.

Drop that beet

[Kristen]

I grow my Beetroot in 9cm pots and plant out. I grow three-per-pot, and then thin largest-root-first as they grow, to give the others more room to bulk up.

Never had a problem planting out from 9cm pots (Don't think that Beetroot has a taproot, in the sense that Carrots and Parsnips do)

[Kristen]

P.S. Beetroot seeds are usually pods containing multiple seeds (unless you buy a "monogerm" variety), so you are likely to need to thin them if you sow seeds directly in pot / module. One "seed" won't do though as the seedlings need to be spaced out a bit, around the pot. I sow mine in a small seed tray / pan and then prick out 3-per-pot.

[ron]

I start my beetroot in root raiders and then plant out and have never had any problems with them

[kathyd]

I also start my parsnips in small modules.... I pre-germinate on wet kitchen roll, then pop one germinated seed into a module. When they come up and have one or two true leaves, I harden them off and plant them outside. Just don't let the plants get too big before you plant them. It's worked fine in the past, don't know about this year 'cos I'm a bit late planting out having got a badly infected finger (warning - wear your gardening gloves, always!! I nearly lost my finger...).

[marchogaeth]

P.S. Beetroot seeds are usually pods containing multiple seeds (unless you buy a "monogerm" variety), so you are likely to need to thin them if you sow seeds directly in pot / module. One "seed" won't do though as the seedlings need to be spaced out a bit, around the pot. I sow mine in a small seed tray / pan and then prick out 3-per-pot.

For multigerm seeds, I use scissors to reduce the numbers growing from each point. I read that this reduces the root disturbance to the one you are leaving.

I also start my parsnips in small modules.... I pre-germinate on wet kitchen roll, then pop one germinated seed into a module. When they come up and have one or two true leaves, I harden them off and plant them outside. Just don't let the plants get too big before you plant them. It's worked fine in the past, don't know about this year 'cos I'm a bit late planting out having got a badly infected finger (warning - wear your gardening gloves, always!! I nearly lost my finger...).

Hear, hear! Poor old you, I don't want to divert the thread but was it anything specific?

[Scoot]

When the shoots come through there is always 3 or 4 seedlings per seed isn't there? Some people say thin the seedlings to 1 seedling per seed and others say leave all of them to grow. What do people on here do?

[sparrow100]

To be honest I've not had a problem with leaving seedlings in modules for ages. They grow very strongly when they have their feet in the ground. I don't always get more than one seedling per seed.

[Kristen]

I also start my parsnips in small modules.... I pre-germinate on wet kitchen roll, then pop one germinated seed into a module. When they come up and have one or two true leaves, I harden them off and plant them outside. Just don't let the plants get too big before you plant them.

I'm surprised that works for you as my Parsnips (in Newspaper pots 4" - 6" tall) the tap root starts coming out of the bottom around the time that the first True Leaf appears, so in a module the tap root must be hitting the bottom perhaps before the Seed Leaves are showing?

[kathyd]

Here, here! Poor old you, I don't want to divert the thread but was it anything specific?

Nobody knows... I wasn't aware of any cuts or anything, but I do pull at the quicks on my fingernails and I don't often wear gloves in the garden or when cleaning the chicken shed... so probably my own fault . Lesson well learned though!